An Odd Ode (1961)

A publican stood at the Golden Gate,
His head was bent and low,
He meekly asked the Man in White,
"Which way, mate, do I go?

"What have you done?" St. Peter said,
"That you should come up here?"
"I kept a public house below
For many and many a year."

St. Peter opened wide the gates,
And gently pressed the bell.
"Come right inside and choose a harp,
You've had your share of Hell."

Notes

From the NSW Australian Newspaper The Western Herald 19 May 1961 p. 1.

The earliest version of this trip to heaven is probably that contained in Frank the Poet's famous epic "A convict's Tour to Hell" composed in 1839.